“Was this the highest fashion show ever in Shanghai?” guests wondered as they walked into Dion Lee’s Fall 2024 show. The semi-surprise presentation (more on that later) took place on the 100th floor of the Shanghai Financial Center, one of the tallest buildings in China.
After celebrating a decade of showing at New York Fashion Week, Lee wanted to break the mold of the exciting, bigger and louder shows we’d come to expect from him. The original plan was to show the collection in a more intimate setting in New York; perhaps in the space of his future store on Mercerstraat, which has been idle due to logistical problems. “But at the end of last year it was so busy and busy that it became a reality to focus on something like this [a show] for February, right after Christmas, was unrealistic,” Lee said. Just that December, he celebrated a store opening in Miami during Art Basel and then unveiled a new Australian flagship in Melbourne. “Something had to be done,” he added. With ten years under his belt, he said, also came the confidence to skip a NYFW season and look elsewhere.
Lee has cemented himself as one of Australia’s most successful fashion export companies, and his presence in the United States is undeniable (see Taylor Swift in one of his knitted corsets at the Super Bowl). The designer had planned a trip to China in 2020 to meet with his buyers and retailers, but this was canceled at the outbreak of the pandemic; With the launch of a Lunar New Year capsule in Shanghai earlier this year, the idea arose to revise that plan and activate it in the city. While many Western brands are keen to assert themselves in China with numerous events ranging from parties to exhibitions; Lee wanted to make a mark instead of becoming a footnote in a busy season.
And so, just as the golden hour arrived, Lee’s star and fire motifs of the season shot through the sky as models traversed the all-glass observatory, framed by panoramic views of Shanghai’s breathtaking skyline. Placing such celestial elements against the sky was pure serendipity, but that’s about all Lee left to chance here. This was a well-crafted and precise outing for the designer.
As usual, Lee took a unique concept this season – the flame – and depicted it in a plethora of compelling fictions. “It’s a symbol of creation and destruction,” Lee explained, adding that he had considered the flame for its beauty and treacherous ways. The collection started with a star-shaped, crossed lapel and then moved to interpretations of the flame motif; printed on grungy tie-dye dresses, woven into intricate laces (one of which was meticulously beaded) and worn on loose-fitting jeans. Lee dyed lavish faux fur coats — one of his models looked like a literal fireball on the runway — and embossed flames on his leather jackets and on the padded protective gear he used as armor details to contrast his otherwise gossamer silhouettes.
Lee’s show was off schedule and had gone unannounced until early this week. There was no ulterior motive for the secrecy other than Lee and his team having their heads down to get the feat done. Needless to say, they did. There was both excitement and curiosity in his audience, many of whom wore outfits from the brand. The city looks good from top to bottom on Dion Lee, and Shanghai certainly looks good on Lee too.
